Former QPR coach Glenn Hoddle believes the club can beat relegation this season – so long as they keep star striker Charlie Austin fit.
The Rs are perched perilously above the drop zone in the Premier League table, having won just one of their last nine matches.
Austin, 25, has found the back of the net 14 times this season and is just three behind Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero in the Premier League top scorer chart.
And Hoddle, who was on the coaching staff at Loftus Road until Harry Redknapp’s departure earlier this year, insists the ex-Burnley forward holds the key to the west London club’s survival.
“We all agreed from the start of the season that it was going to be tough job [at QPR], he told Hawksbee and Delaney. “There are five or six teams that knew it would be nip and tuck right until the end.
“QPR have enough ability to stay out of the bottom three. They’ve got to keep Charlie Austin fit though. They’ve also got to keep 11 players on the pitch.”